


Team Free Will (Family Doesn't End in Blood)

by supernaturalandshiz



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Castiel Lives (Supernatural), Episode: s15e18 Despair, Episode: s15e19 Inherit the Earth, F/M, Fix-It, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Jack is God, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Selectively Mute Dean Winchester, not beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:08:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27680507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/supernaturalandshiz/pseuds/supernaturalandshiz
Summary: He caught himself on the doorway to the storage room. Pulling in a gasp, he almost tripped over himself."Cas!" He propelled himself toward the angel in front of him, nearly knocking them both to the ground.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester, minor Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester - Relationship
Comments: 2
Kudos: 82





	Team Free Will (Family Doesn't End in Blood)

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, this is my first fic in a long time, so I really hope my writing has improved. Comments, suggestions, and criticism are always appreciated <3

He didn't know how long he had been sitting on the cold floor, but Dean jolted back to reality when he heard his brother calling his name.

"Dean! What happened man, why didn't you answer the phone?" At his silence, Sam began to survey the scene. The broken door, the tears in Dean's eyes, the blood on his shirt, and the 'Missed Call' notification bright on his phone screen. "Where is Cas?"

Dean wanted to respond, but every word felt like a thousand knives on his tongue. Another sob bubbled up through his throat, making his lungs ache. Cas was gone, he sacrificed himself for Dean. He watched his best friend be swallowed by a sea of black.

Sam watched with pity as his brother struggled to get his breathing under control. With a sigh, he thought pensively of what could have happened to make Dean react like this. Did Cas turn to dust like everyone else? Would that have this much affect on him?

As Jack made his way into the room, he took in a sharp breath. Would Cas have found his true happiness in a situation like this? He cleared his throat then, "Sam, what's going on?"

~~~

Dean was sat in the library, a book in front of him. No _thing about the empty, why_ _is there nothing about the empty?_ He wished he could voice his frustration, but opening his mouth felt like the darkness of The Empty crawling up from his lungs, consuming him. He could hear Sam and Jack in the war room.

"Sam, we can-," Sam cut Jack off, his wavering voice raising in volume.

"We can what? There's nothing left! No one else to save. Everybody's gone." He could hear the pain in his brother's voice as his eyes blurred. There's no one left.  _ Me, Sam, and Jack.  _ He had always imagined going out with a bang, Sam by his side. He just thought that Cas would be by his side as the world went to shit.

"Well we can't just give up!" He knew Jack was right, but was there even a point? He was so tired, and so  **alone** . He couldn't even tell Cas how he felt, and now he was gone.

"What choice do we have?" 

~~~

"We're surrendering, we'll give you what you want. The whole Cain and Abel thing, it doesn't matter." Chuck had just laughed in their faces and left. He was just going to let them rot.

It was the first time Sam heard his brother talk since he found him in the bunker. "You can't." He sounded desperate, afraid, like his voice was crumbling beneath the fallen fractures of his heart. 

~~~

Sam walked into the library to find Dean passed out on the floor, a bottle of alcohol empty beside him. Crouching, he shook his brother a bit. As Dean jolted awake, he asked if he was okay. He sighed when the only response he got was a weak nod.

A moment later, Jack came out of his room, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Guys I'm feeling something weird. I'm sensing a presence; something other than us."

"Something like people?" Dean could tell that his brother was excited. A flair of hope in the shadows of his heart. He, on the other hand, felt uneasy.  _ Chuck has to be playing some game with us _ . 

As they piled into the car, he wanted to broadcast his concern, but even the thought of speaking was making his airways tighter.

~~~

When he heard the whimper of a dog, he felt a flurry of optimism race through his veins. He started talking to it without a second thought. "Whoever thought finding a dog would feel like a miracle?"

Sam's head shot up as he heard his brother's voice, "C'mon Miracle." To say that he was surprised when the first thing he heard Dean say in days was addressed to a dog, would be an understatement. He could tell he was whispering to the dog as he walked to the car. 

"You found a dog? I guess Chuck didn't get everything." And if the smell of a dog in the back of the Impala was the price for the smile Dean shot him, he was willing to take it. He turned back to the building to go find Jack, happiness rising in him.  _ Maybe this will be good for him. _

"Good boy."  _ If Chuck missed a dog, maybe there were people, too. Well, I'll talk to Sam about it later.  _

He hadn't seen anyone turn to dust like Sam had described, but his heart rate quickened as Miracle began to vanish. He panicked for a second before looking up. Every cell in his body froze as he saw Chuck. He waved and disappeared.

When Sam walked out and saw the grim look on Dean's face, he had a vague idea of what had happened. 

Dean wished he could tell them about Chuck, but he was too nauseous to even consider it.

~~~

When they pulled up to the church, Jack admitted that he had no idea what they were walking into. He felt useless with his powers so diminished, but at least he had been able to sense whatever was inside.

"So...you survived." Dean's heart skipped a beat upon hearing Adam's voice, but he knew it was Michael talking. He turned so fast that he thought he would get whiplash. 

The archangel was talking, but Dean was too focused on his own racing heart to really listen.

"And Adam?" He tuned in just in time to hear Sam's strained question.

"Gone." And if a sick part of him was glad that Adam didn't have to deal with the suffocating feeling of possession any longer, that was no one's business but his.

He knew he should be a part of the conversation, but words kept getting caught in his jagged throat.

~~~

"So where does this leave us? We need that book open and we're out of options." They wouldn't be able to open the book, so what was the point? The four of them were going to die slowly in an empty world.

_We're screwed._ _Chuck is probably planning his next move as we speak._ Just then, his cell started ringing in his pocket. He tries not to think of the implications of the last time his phone rang as he pulls it out.

**_Cas._ ** His heart was thundering in his chest as his thumb hit the 'Answer Call' button. Sam wasn't as interested in the call as he probably should have been, but he perked up at the sound of his brother's voice.

"Cas?" Dean's voice was scratchy from it's lack of use. He made a desperate attempt to keep the tears from welling in his eyes.

"Dean. I'm here. I'm hurt. Can you let me in?" Everything he was thinking went out the door. All he could hear was his footsteps pounding up the staircase and Cas' words in his ears. He swung the door open, met with a familiar face.

"Wassup?" He pulled the door closed, emotions overwhelming him. "Wow, way to treat a pal." Cas wasn't back, he would probably never see him again, even if he survived Chuck. Dean felt dizzy. He wasn't listening to Sam or Lucifer, one thought on his mind.

"You're dead." Sam's eyes rocketed up to meet his. The Empty had booted Lucifer. Had it done the same for anyone else? Cas?

He could have asked, but the sickly pressure on his lungs made it impossible.

~~~

After Michael's fight with Lucifer, Dean knew he had to talk to him, but the words kept scraping his esophagus bloody. If he could only get the words out,  _ How you doing? You okay?  _

"Yeah I'm a bit winded. I haven't been in a battle like that for several centuries." Dean snuck a sideways glance as he grabbed a beer. He hadn't expected an answer to the question he asked in his head.

"He didn't even reach out to me." Well that was concerning, wasn't it. 

_ Did you want him to? _ If Michael had expected his father to contact him, they could be in real trouble.

"Of course not."

~~~

Michael was asking Jack if Sam had made any progress just as the taller man walked in. "Hey Sam," then, "ask him yourself."

"I think I was able to piece together some of it." Sam explained that 'it' was a spell that could finish Chuck.

He should have been able to congratulate his brother, but his heavy tongue was too weary.

~~~

They did it. They drove off, leaving Chuck to die alone and scared. Dean was happy, but there was something missing. A Cas sized hole in his heart.

"Jack, you sure this will work?" Sam was still worrying about the 'God Powers' that Jack inherited. Jack closed his eyes with a smile. There was a rush of wind and suddenly there were people bustling around. It was as if nothing ever happened. 

Both brothers were happy again without the feeling of being completely alone. Dean felt a grin on his face as Miracle ran toward them.

"Way to go." The words still scratched at his raw throat, but he felt lighter. He was free; no more script to follow."Let's go home." 

"Actually Dean, I'm not coming back home." For a second, Dean felt betrayal. Jack was going to leave, like everyone else had at some point. "In a way, I'm already there."

He fell silent once again as Sam spoke. "So you are him?"

Jack smiled, and his eyes seemed to bore into Dean's soul.  _ He's so much like Cas _ .

"That reminds me,  **everyone** is back." He looked sorry for a second, even with a glint in his eyes, "I just couldn't get to Mary." He was gone; he left for heaven.

~~~

He didn't want to get his hopes up, but Jack had emphasized 'everyone'. Baby's tires squealed as he parked in the garage. The driver's side door was open as soon as the engine was off and he was running through the halls of the bunker.

He caught himself on the doorway to the storage room. Pulling in a gasp, he almost tripped over himself.

"Cas!" He propelled himself toward the angel in front of him, nearly knocking them both to the ground. 

When Cas made an attempt to pull away, Dean held on tighter, fingers digging into the stupidly beloved trench coat. "Dean? What happened? How am I here?"

Cas's soft words and gravelly voice healed Dean's dried up lungs. "That's a long story, but first," he stepped away from Cas, giving him room.

"I love you, too. I'm so sorry I didn't say it before, I was just scared. Scared that you wouldn't feel the same way, scared that you  **couldn't** . I mean god, you're an  **angel** , why the hell would you care for someone like me? I've hurt one too many people, killed one too many things. You should hate me, but you don't. Every time you left, I thought you might not come back, but you did, every time. You stuck around, and thank fuck, 'cause I don't know where I'd be without you. I mean, you pulled me outta hell, literally."

Cas surged forward embracing Dean again. They shared a soft kiss, each declaration of love engraved in the caress. 

"Dean Winchester, I love you 

~~~

Dean finally felt happy,  **truly happy** . Everything was finally okay. There were no big bads to fight anymore, just smaller hunts. It felt like an ending they deserved. There was a time when he thought he wouldn't stop hunting until he died, but for now, he deserved a break, they all did.

He and Cas often stayed in the bunker, together. Dean did mechanic work for any hunters that dropped by. Jack gave Cas his grace back, so he healed hunters with wounds that they couldn't fix on the road.

Sam ran the whole operation out of the bunker, in a way he was like Bobby. He was the first hunter people called for advice or help. There were always hunters waiting for work so there was always someone to send. He and Eileen made sure to take every call from every hunter in need.

They had family dinners with Jody, Donna, and the girls. Hell, Jack even stopped by every once in a while. It was a family, and they were free.

No one stopped to think about John or Mary because

**_Family don't end in blood, but it doesn't start there either._ **

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading:)  
> If you want to stick around, here are some things about the fic:  
> 1\. This version of Selectively Mute Dean was created from my own struggles with speech. I hope I did this trope/head canon justice :p  
> 2\. I was deeply disappointed with the finale for many reasons. I felt like their character development over the past 15 seasons was really thrown out the window and they seriously passed up the option to make an amazing ending that wrapped up the show. (So I fixed it, but not completely how I would have wanted the final episodes lol)  
> 3\. Most of the dialog was drawn from 15x19, but I changed it up,  
> 4\. I wanted to focus on the found family aspect that the series seemed to show.  
> 5\. I implied that their parents were abusive, which is something that I genuinely believe, and will probably write about in the future.
> 
> Ahh, tysm for reading :)))


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